Dreamland (Coney Island, 2009)

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Dreamland was an amusement park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City that operated at the site of the defunct Astroland park for the 2009 season. It was replaced with a new Luna Park the following year.

The park was operated by Anthony Raffaele for Thor Equities. [1] The park contained two large freak shows as well as independent attractions to see a giant snake, [2] a giant rat (really a baby capybara), [3] [4] and a tiny woman. [5] [6] It also included a carousel, a scrambler, and other rides.

Thor Equities shut the park down before the end of the 2009 season because the operators had accumulated $600,000 in unpaid back rent. Thor locked the operators out in the middle of the night without a formal eviction. [7] [8]

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Dreamland or Dream Land may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coney Island</span> Neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City

Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to the south and west, and Gravesend to the north and includes the subsection of Sea Gate on its west. More broadly, the Coney Island peninsula consists of Coney Island proper, Brighton Beach, and Manhattan Beach. This was formerly the westernmost of the Outer Barrier islands on the southern shore of Long Island, but in the early 20th century it became a peninsula, connected to the rest of Long Island by land fill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dreamland (Coney Island, 1904)</span> Former amusement park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York

Dreamland was an amusement park at Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, which operated from 1904 to 1911. It was the last of the three original large parks built on Coney Island, along with Steeplechase Park and Luna Park. The park was between Surf Avenue to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It was arranged roughly as a horseshoe, with a pier facing south toward the Atlantic Ocean. Dreamland contained several attractions that were larger versions of those at Luna Park, and it included a human zoo, several early roller coasters, a Shoot the Chutes ride, and a replica of Venice. Dreamland also hosted entertainment and dramatic spectacles based on morality themes. Several buildings, such as the Pompeiian, Electricity, and Submarine Boat buildings, were dedicated to exhibits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luna Park (Coney Island, 1903)</span> Former amusement park in Brooklyn, New York

Luna Park was an amusement park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. The park was located on a site bounded by Surf Avenue to the south, West 8th Street to the east, Neptune Avenue to the north, and West 12th Street to the west. Luna Park opened in 1903 and operated until 1944. It was located partly on the grounds of the small park it replaced, Sea Lion Park, "the first enclosed and permanent amusement park in North America", which had operated between 1895 and 1902. It was the second of the three original, very large, iconic parks built on Coney Island; the other were Steeplechase Park and Dreamland. At Coney Island's peak in the middle of the 20th century's first decade, the three amusement parks competed with each other and with many independent amusements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steeplechase Park</span> Former amusement park in New York City

Steeplechase Park was a 15-acre (6.1 ha) amusement park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. Steeplechase Park was created by entrepreneur George C. Tilyou in 1897 and operated until 1964. It was the first of the three large amusement parks built on Coney Island, the other two being Luna Park (1903) and Dreamland (1904). Of the three, Steeplechase was the longest-lasting, running for 67 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coney Island Cyclone</span> Wooden roller coaster at Luna Park

The Cyclone, also the Coney Island Cyclone, is a wooden roller coaster at Luna Park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. Designed by Vernon Keenan, it opened to the public on June 26, 1927. The roller coaster is on a plot of land at the intersection of Surf Avenue and West 10th Street. The Cyclone reaches a maximum speed of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) and has a total track length of 2,640 feet (800 m), with a maximum height of 85 feet (26 m).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culver Depot</span> Former streetcar and railroad terminal in Brooklyn

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astroland</span> Former amusement park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York

Astroland was a 3.1-acre (1.3 ha) amusement park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City that first opened in 1962. It was located at 1000 Surf Avenue on the boardwalk. It ceased operations on September 7, 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wonder Wheel</span> Ferris wheel at Coney Island

The Wonder Wheel is a 150-foot-tall (46 m) eccentric Ferris wheel at Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park at Coney Island in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The wheel is located on a plot bounded by West 12th Street to the west, Bowery Street to the north, Luna Park to the east, and the Riegelmann Boardwalk to the south. As with other eccentric Ferris wheels, some of the Wonder Wheel's passenger cabins are not fixed directly to the rim of the wheel, but instead slide along winding sets of rails between the hub and the rim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dante's Inferno (ride)</span>

Dante's Inferno was a dark ride, Haunted attraction created in 1971 by Anton Schwarzkopf that was located at Astroland on Coney Island; a similar ride, Dante's Dungeon, is at Morey's Piers in Wildwood, New Jersey. Dante's Inferno is decorated with a purple Cerberus in each tower, a werewolf out of one window, and skeleton warriors in another, its exterior's centerpiece is a large devil holding a victim in his hand that is connecting to the tongue of an upside-down, lolling eyed creature, and a pitchfork in the other. The ride's exterior resembles a castle, and its open area is decorated in graffiti style artwork including Medusa's severed head held by a Grim Reaper, as well as a mad scientist and several dragons.

Thor Equities is a real estate development, leasing and management firm, with headquarters in New York City, London and Mexico City. Thor Equities owns property in the United States, Canada, Europe, Russia, India and Latin America, including London's historic Burlington Arcade and the Palmer House Hilton. In New York City, Thor owns retail, office and residential properties on Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue as well as in SoHo, Flatiron, the Meatpacking District, and Brooklyn including Coney Island. Thor also has investments in major U.S. cities including San Francisco's Union Square; Georgetown in Washington, D.C.; Robertson Boulevard in West Hollywood; Collins Avenue; Lincoln Road; Wynwood and the Design District in Miami. Thor offers investment vehicles for institutional investors through its Thor Urban Property Funds. Thor Equities also has several subsidiary companies including retail advisory and tenant representation firm Thor Retail Advisors.

Joseph J. Sitt is an American real estate investor, founder of the retail chain Ashley Stewart, and founder of global real estate company Thor Equities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luna Park (Coney Island, 2010)</span> Amusement park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York

Luna Park is an amusement park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. It opened on May 29, 2010, at the site of Astroland, an amusement park that had been in operation from 1962 to 2008, and Dreamland, which operated at the same site for the 2009 season. It was named after the original 1903 Luna Park which operated until 1944 on a site just north of the current park's 1000 Surf Avenue location.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coney Island in popular culture</span> Popular culture appearances of a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York

Coney Island has been featured in novels, films, television shows, cartoons, and theatrical plays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shoot the Freak</span>

Shoot the Freak was an attraction on the Riegelmann Boardwalk at Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York, USA, that operated from 2000 until its demolition in 2010. The game was located on West Boardwalk in Coney Island. The game was considered one of the distinctive attractions of Coney Island. A successor, called Shoot the Clown, opened in a different location on the Boardwalk in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flushing Meadows Carousel</span> United States historic place

The Flushing Meadows Carousel is a carousel located in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in the New York City borough of Queens. It contains four rows of figures, including 64 jumping horses, 7 standing horses, 1 menagerie animal, and 2 chariots. It was created to serve patrons of the 1964 New York World's Fair by combining two earlier carousels, both of which were carved in Coney Island in the first decade of the twentieth century by renowned carver Marcus Illions. During the fair, it stood on a nearby site within the park, and it was moved to its present site in 1968, where it has remained in service ever since.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Childs Restaurant (Boardwalk)</span>

The Childs Restaurant Building on the Boardwalk is a New York City designated landmark on the Riegelmann Boardwalk at West 21st Street in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. It was completed in 1923 for Childs Restaurants, an early restaurant chain and one of the largest in the United States at that time. It was designed in a "resort style with Spanish Revival influence" with colorful exterior terra cotta ornamentation that references its seaside location, with depictions of Poseidon, sailing ships, and sea creatures. It was a very large restaurant, with three stories and a roof garden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coney Island History Project</span> Not-for-profit organization

The Coney Island History Project, or CIHP, founded in 2004, is a not-for-profit organization that works to record and increase awareness of Coney Island's history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George C. Tilyou</span> American entrepreneur and showman who founded New York Citys Steeplechase Park

George Cornelius Tilyou (1862–1914) was an American entrepreneur and showman who founded New York City's Steeplechase Park. Born in New York City, his parents had operated businesses in Coney Island from his early childhood. He founded Steeplechase in 1897, and rebuilt it entirely after a 1907 fire. Tilyou died in 1914, leaving the park to his children, who continued to operate it until 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steeplechase Face</span>

The Steeplechase Face was the mascot of the historic Steeplechase Park, the first of three amusement parks in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York. It remains a nostalgic symbol of Coney Island and of amusement areas influenced by it. It features a man with a wide, exaggerated smile which sometimes bears as many as 44 visible teeth. The image conveys simple fun, but was also observed by cultural critics to have an undercurrent of Victorian-era repressed sexuality.

References

  1. Sederstrom, Jotham (April 8, 2009). "Dreamland amusement park to take place of Astroland at Coney Island". nydailynews.com. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  2. "Giant Snake". shutterfreaks.com.
  3. "Coney Island Giant Rat « Capybara Madness". gianthamster.com. Archived from the original on December 28, 2009. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  4. Limited, Alamy. "Stock Photo - Giant rat stall (not!) Brighton Beach, Coney Island, new york city, USA". Alamy. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  5. "Art of the Day: World's Smallest Woman Arrives in Coney Island". Amusing the Zillion. September 2, 2012. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  6. jriddlesmast (October 6, 2009), Meet the Freaks at Dreamland Coney Island Part 1 , retrieved July 22, 2019
  7. Durkin, Erin (August 24, 2009). "Nightmare at Dreamland: Rent woes shut Coney Island park as owner vows court battle". nydailynews.com. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  8. McLaughlin, Mike (August 28, 2009). "IT'S OVER! Coney's Dreamland will be closed for the rest of the summer". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved July 22, 2019.

40°34′26″N73°58′42″W / 40.5740°N 73.9784°W / 40.5740; -73.9784